Dacia (Imperator Augustus) Melee Ship

Assault Raider - Spears

Useful ships, with crews large enough to board enemy vessels.

Even the lowliest of Dacians can carry a spear into battle for his people.

Most of the northern European tribes were not naval powers, but there were still able seafarers to be found amongst them. Shipbuilding techniques were well understood, so while many vessels were small leather-skinned boats for inland and inshore use, bigger sea-going vessels were also made. Shipwrights used heavy planking for hulls, stitched together and then fastened to a wooden skeleton to create sturdy craft able to cope with Atlantic conditions. Julius Caesar was surprised at the quality of the enemy ships when his fleet clashed with the Veneti from modern-day Brittany. The Veneti vessels had flat bottoms to cope with shallows, but were also of heavy oak construction to cope with rough seas. This made them tough opposition for Roman galleys, and capable of shrugging off a ramming attack. Caesar said that the enemy ships "...were constructed of planks a foot in breadth, fastened by iron spikes the thickness of a man's thumb; the anchors were secured fast by iron chains instead of cables”. When the Romans were forced to board, they faced fearsome warriors used to close-quarters fighting at sea.

(Spears)
The exact origins of the Dacians are something of a mystery. Dacian lands were centred around the Carpathian Mountains but, unlike their Thracian neighbours, they seldom got involved in the conflicts of others. The Dacians fought almost entirely on foot, and usually looked to their Sarmatian allies when serious cavalry were needed. Many Dacian infantry fought as peltasts, equipped with javelins, short swords and oval shields, but they also fielded archers. However, the Dacians were most feared because of a weapon called the 'falx', which they used with deadly, limb-lopping skill. A two-handed sword with a forward-curving blade, a falx could cut a man in two from the top of his head to his breastbone. This weapon was so effective that the Romans improved their legionary armour to cope with it. The brow-ridge on later legionary helmets was there to stop a blow from a falx. Rome’s eventual victory in the Dacian Wars (AD101-106), celebrated by Trajan’s Column, finally dealt with the warlike Dacian tribes once and for all.

Abilities

Assault Raider

• Row Hard 10
  Increases speed for 10 strokes.
  Ship speed

Spears

• Cavalry Counter-tactics
  Improves unit's ability to endure enemy cavalry charges for an extended time.
  Bonus vs mounted units
• Shield Screen
  The unit raises their shields in a static defensive formation.
  Bracing, melee defence, shield strength
  Can't move

Attributes

• Hide (forest)
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Assault Raider

• Average hull strength
• Light crew
• Very fast speed
• Weak ramming
• Average boarding

Spears

• Average defensive unit
• Low damage but average armour penetration
• Weak attack
• Poor morale

Dacia (Imperator Augustus) Units
General (3)
1.Noble Horsemen
2.Noble Spears
3.Noble Swords
Melee Infantry (10)
4.Falxmen
5.Noble Swords
6.Thracian Chosen Infantry
7.Thracian Infantry
8.Triballoi Swordsmen
9.Costobocii Axemen
10.Dacian Elite Falxmen
11.Daoi Elite Infantry
12.Dii Swordsmen
13.Dacian Axe Nobles
Missile Infantry (7)
14.Dacian Bowmen
15.Dacian Heavy Bowmen
16.Dacian Heavy Skirmishers
17.Dacian Skirmishers
18.Dacian Elite Archers
19.Dacian Elite Skirmishers
20.Dacian Noble Archers
Spear Infantry (9)
21.Armoured Spears
22.Heavy Spears
23.Noble Spears
24.Spear Warriors
25.Spears
26.Dacian Tribesmen
27.Getohellenic Hoplites
28.Bessi Spearmen
29.Kapidaua Spears
Melee Cavalry (2)
30.Spear Horsemen
31.Tarabostes
Missile Cavalry (4)
32.Bow Horsemen
33.Thracian Chosen Cavalry
34.Noble Horse Archers
35.Skirmisher Cavalry
Shock Cavalry (2)
36.Noble Horsemen
37.Dacian Horsemen
Fixed Artillery (3)
38.Dacian Giant Ballista
39.Dacian Bastion Scorpion
40.Dacian Scorpion (Fixed)
Field Artillery (6)
41.Dacian Bastion Ballista
42.Dacian Ballista
43.Dacian Scorpion
44.Dacian Heavy Onager
45.Dacian Bastion Onager
46.Dacian Onager
Admiral (1)
47.Heavy Raider - Falxmen
Melee Ship (4)
48.Heavy Raider - Falxmen
49.Persian Assault Teteres - Heavy Spears
50.Medium Assault Raider - Heavy Spears
51.Assault Raider - Spears
Missile Ship (2)
52.Greek Missile Penteres - Dacian Bowmen
53.Missile Raider - Dacian Skirmishers
Artillery Ship (2)
54.Roman Light Artillery Quinquereme - Dacian Ballista (Ship)
55.Roman Artillery Quinquereme - Dacian Onager (Ship)